Speak
by theatrhythms
Summary: He knew Sam was sorry; he knew Sam took pleasure in signing so well. He just wished that Sam would open his mouth and say it.


**Title: **Speak

**Author: **X Academy

**Series:** Supernatural

**Summary: **He knew Sam was sorry; he knew Sam took pleasure in signing so well. He just wished that Sam would open his mouth and say it.

**Warnings/Rating:** K. Just a little fluff.

**Pairings:** maybe Dean x Sam

**Characters:**

Dean Winchester – 30  
Sam Winchester – 26

**New Characters: **

**Author Notes: **Well, a bout of inspiration hit me last night, and I thought of this short story. It's… well, maybe only slightly AU, but, let's just assume that something extremely traumatic happened to Sam to make him not want to talk anymore. He's not deaf, he just refuses to speak.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Supernatural or any of their characters. I just do this for fun. I need a life.

* * *

Dean is flipping through a dirty magazine when he sees Sam waving at him in the corner of his vision. Sam's smiling a bit, and his eyes are bright with an excitement that Dean rarely sees anymore.

"What's up?" he asks, sitting up from where he's lounging on the couch.

Sam beckons him over with a jerk of his head, and Dean slaps the magazine down on the table as he ambles over to his brother. He sits across from him at the dining room table, curious.

A book is open on the table, and Sam flips it closed and slides it over to Dean for his inspection. Dean wipes a hand over his mouth as he reads the cover, and he's taken aback.

"_Sign Language for Dummies_?" he asks incredulously. Dean is a little stung; he and Sam had always gotten by with their own little brand of sign language; gestures they'd just assumed meant certain things after using them for awhile.

Sam's smile fell, and his hazel eyes got big and guilty. He made a face at Dean as if to apologize, and Dean mentally kicked himself. He shouldn't chew Sam out for something as stupid as sign language; he knew how much his brother loved to learn, so it wasn't fair that he thought he should take it away.

"No, no, it's okay," Dean quickly recovered, pushing the book back at Sam. "It's cool, Sammy."

Sam grinned a little, turning the book sideways so that Dean could read along with him, but Dean soon eliminated the problem by moving his chair next to his brother's. He watched as Sam smiled gratefully, and the younger man bumped his broad shoulder against Dean's in thanks.

Sam flipped the book open to a random page, and the whole sign language alphabet was spread out before the brothers' eyes. Dean scanned all of the hand diagrams, reading the small letters under all of the pictures.

A moment later, Sam was imitating the symbols with his hands, spelling out the whole alphabet, a lax smile on his face. He urged Dean to do the same, and soon, the two were silently signing to each other. Sam signed out Dean's name for him, and Dean returned the favor. They made silly sentences and rude remarks, Dean's soft laughter the only thing breaking the silence. Sam would grin, but he wouldn't make a sound as he signed.

The two did this for hours, finding signs for other words. _Boy_. _Mom_. _Help. Brother_. Sam was the better of the two, what with his brain absorbing the language like a sponge, and Dean knew he was better, and it frustrated him. He wanted to be better than Sam, for Sam. He'd growl softly when Sam would sign out a simple sentence a few seconds faster than him, frown at his brother while he smiled back.

"_Sorry, Dean. I didn't want to upset you_," Sam signed apologetically after awhile.

Dean only smiled back and grunted in the graceful way he has, nodding in forgiveness. He knew Sam was sorry; he knew Sam took pleasure in signing so well. He just wished that Sam would open his mouth and say it.

It had been almost three months since Dean had heard Sam's real voice, and not over some replayed and replayed message in his voice mail or in an old video. He'd try to get it out of Sam, try to badger him into saying anything or making some sort of noise. He'd bully him, pester him for hours on end. Sometimes, he'd hit Sam harder and harder to get the man to cry out. Of course, Sam would say nothing, and Dean would always feel guilty for his behavior.

He'd gotten a small gasp out of his brother once, weeks ago. In the middle of the night, he'd waited until Sam fell asleep before he made his move. Dean had jumped on him, screaming and shaking his brother, and the small cry that he'd gotten out of Sam refused to leave his mind.

He felt an odd sort of victory every time he recalled the sound, but he also remembered the distraught look on Sam's face, the way he held his brother after, repeating hushed apologies over and over into his hair. All Sam would do was hug Dean back in a vice-like grip, nodding and nodding until he'd fallen asleep.

A few hours later, Sam was still signing sentences to himself, and Dean had grown tired of it a long time ago. He was settling into his bed when Sam started to wave at him.

"What?" Dean asked, his voice gruff and sleepy. He turned onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow, giving Sam a questioning look.

Sam turned away for a moment, scanning a page in the book for a moment before he made his way over to Dean's bed. He plopped himself down next to his brother and made a funny looking sign at him. His hand was held so that his pinky, index finger, and thumb poked out, the other two fingers turned down.

Dean furrowed his brow in confusion, trying to comprehend what the gesture meant. "What?" he asked, confused.

Sam grinned and went to retrieve the book from the table. When he came back, he set the book down in front of Dean, pointing at a diagram at the top of the page.

Dean stared at the picture for a few moments before the meaning of the sign registered, and he couldn't suppress the smile that adorned his face.

He glanced up at Sam, beaming, and pulled the man into a tight hug.

"Love you too, Sammy," he replied.

* * *

**So, how do you like it? I hope it wasn't too horrible. :)**

**Reviews are appreciated.**

**- X Academy**


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